Bare
by drecklyn
Summary: Snow wasn't normally one to get distracted - Quick one-shot of Snow's reaction to shirtless Bigby in "A Crooked Mile"


**Bare**

* * *

His gait, his stride, everything about him was full of purpose as he stormed the musty scented halls of The Woodlands, bar the fact that he was wounded, the left sleeve of his shirt dyed red courtesy of a shoulder full of bullets. Snow struggled to keep up with him on unsteady heels, trying to muster up some form of reasoning to nail into his thick determined skull yet failing dismally.

Bigby Wolf was on a mission and not even a gaping flesh wound or Snow's desperate protests could suffice to stop him.

Of course she understood where his determination was stemming from and she knew her own eyes reflected the anger and revolt he bore in his. Crane was a monster; a disgusting fiend who preyed on helpless women, and yet she found herself refraining from jumping to conclusions. She wouldn't choose to believe her longtime boss beheaded those girls until she heard the shriveling confession from his own impure lips.

But the photograph, that was incriminating evidence of a more personal matter, one that she couldn't choose to ignore even if she tried. Every time she closed her eyes, her mind immediately jumped to random occasions of the past where Crane's eyes had lingered just a little too long, his touch just a little too familiar. She shuttered in spite of herself.

So lost in thought, Snow hadn't notice Bigby pause outside of Crane's business office until she collided against his solid figure, stumbling backwards before quickly and gracefully steadying herself.

"Snow…" Bigby began.

"I'm fine Bigby. Let's just get this over with," She hadn't meant for her inflection to sound so cold, but she figured he was used to it by now. For good measure she added softly, "I've already called Swineheart. He'll meet us here in a few minutes to…patch you up." Her blue gaze drifted over his injured shoulder before quickly returning to his somber face. It…troubled her to see him in pain, both emotional and physical due to the course of recent events concerning her.

His eyes met hers briefly and they shared a silent understanding confidant glance but Snow found herself having to quickly avert herself from his amber gaze and to mask her discomfort, she pushed open the door.

It was empty, as they had both surmised on their journey from Holly's disastrous funeral. Crane was quick, conniving and more than capable of giving them the proverbial slip but deep down Snow had hoped they would find the bastard cowering under his desk, fearful that the big bad wolf was going to teach him an unforgettable lesson. And Snow might have let him.

No, she managed to convince herself. She didn't want that…

"The mirror," Bigby's gruff voice broke her silent reverie and she turned to find him crouched amongst a plethora of broken shards that littered the floor in front of the magic mirror's wooden frame.

"Crane," She surmised. Her eyes scanned the trajectory of the office, looking for a certain green furred individual who could assist in helping track their quarry. "Bufkin!"

The monkey appeared before the duo uncharacteristically fast which Snow made out to be a good sign. It meant he knew something.

Bufkin pawed a clear bottle in his grasp as he came to rest on the floor near the mirror, taking care to avoid the sharp glass that spewed across the ground like a minefield.

"Good evening Miss Snow, Mister Bigby, I take it you're looking for Mister Crane?" The monkey's warbling voice echoed around the cavernous office. Of course he had been drinking but gluttony did have its advantageous.

"You've been here all night Bufkin, correct?" Snow prodded.

"Of course Miss Snow."

"Tell us what you saw. Everything," Bigby crossed his arms, taking on his customary intimidating stance he used for interrogations.

"Well Crane was watching you Mister Bigby, through the Magic Mirror. He grew angry though and smashed it to the pieces you see before you and then took off."

"Dammit," Bigby muttered. "It's useless now."

"Actually no Mister Bigby. If I can restore all the pieces the mirror shall resume functionality again."

"Do it," Snow demanded. "And fast. We need to find Crane as soon as possible," Her statement was cut off at the sound of the business office door and she turned to see the middle aged Doctor Swineheart toting a medical bag on one arm as he approached them.

"Back to our old antics are we now Bigby?" From anyone else, the statement would have caused a rise in the Sherriff, but Swineheart's demeanor was so kindhearted and without malice that Bigby merely waved him over as he leaned back against Crane's desk.

"Sorry about the impromptu surgery room but we're kind of in a hurry," Snow supplied as she watched Swineheart retrieve a needle and a pair of surgical scissors She was glad she wasn't squeamish; a product of her time in the Homelands.

"I understand Miss White, no skin off my nose." Swineheart murmured. "Bigby, mind removing your shirt?"

That she had not been expecting. In hind sight it seemed foolish of her to not see it coming; obviously his torso would have to be bare to remove the bullets, she had just been too focused on Crane to dwell on it.

But why should she dwell on it? It was simply his chest, a basic part of human anatomy, and so when her eyes remained glued to his figure as he carelessly unbuttoned his shirt and removed his tie, she convinced herself it was due to natural curiosity.

Her self inducing thoughts however immediately vanished from her mind at the site of his chiseled figure; he was inch by inch of pure unadulterated muscle and she had the sudden urge to rake her fingers across the vast expanse of his torso. Her gaze lingered first on his broad powerful shoulders before snaking their way to his pronounced collar bones and then finally trailing to his navel before finding herself bitterly disappointed that the rest of his mass of skin was obscured by his still adorned pants.

No, what was she doing? This was a man. A perfectly ordinary man who yes, looked as though he were carved out of decadent marble, but a man nonetheless. This was Bigby; her Sherriff, her partner, and one of the few Fables she liked to consider as her friend.

"How does it look Snow? Good as new?" Bigby's voice jerked her from her trance and her face immediately reddened.

"I…I uh," He had caught her staring at him and now she would be forever humiliated, but as she took in the scene before her she was relieved to find that he was merely inquiring to his newly repaired shoulder, the once torn flesh mended together by thin nearly transparent stitches and now concealed by a white bandage. When had Swineheart done that? How long exactly had she been staring? "Oh yes, the stitches. Invisible, I can't even tell you were shot." _Nice save Snow_, she thought to herself sarcastically. As Swineheart proceeded to pack his surgical equipment back into his bag, Snow wandered mindlessly over to Bufkin who was still seated on the floor attempting to piece the mirror back to it's original state.

She could hear Bigby shuffling behind her and she knew he was getting anxious. He wanted to get on the move again. Swinheart was clarifying to Bigby the nature of his wound and still apprehensive that she had revealed too much in her consistent staring she quickly turned to traditionally chide Bigby.

"Bigby, Dr. Swineheart was appointed Fabletown physician for a reason." There. That sounded more like her.

She suffered a quick lapse in judgment however as Bigby proceeded to stand from his previous place on the desk, stretching and flexing his arms as he twisted his body in a way she decided should be illegal for any man with such a physique as he posessed, his shoulder making a slight popping sound as he tested it. She swore inwardly. It was like he was _trying_ to torture her.

Her eyes immediately went to his face, reminding herself again that this was Bigby Wolf, not some doe eyed god. She was horrified however to find that he was glancing at her with a tight smile on his face that was almost a little too suspicious.

No he couldn't know. She was being discreet right?

Her brain barely processed the conversation between Bigby and Swineheart as the Doctor proceeded to make his departure, her reverie only interrupted by the shrill ring of the telephone.

She picked up the phone, somehow managing to maintain her composure, however all thoughts of Bigby's body were washed from her mind at the news she received on the other end. Word of the shooting was spreading and people were beginning to get anxious.

"The town is starting to find out," She said, turning to Bigby and making a great effort to focus on his eyes. That didn't exactly help either.

Somewhere in the back of her mind she heard Swineheart exchange his goodbyes, but her mind was racing too fast to make note of it. They had things to discuss; it was time to get down to business.

She approached Bigby on weary feet, taking great care to avoid his bare torso and instead choosing to focus her gaze on the wall behind him. He seemed completely oblivious to how flustered she was; she wasn't sure whether that was exactly reassuring. Timidly raising a hand to her hair, trying to diffuse the pulse of heat rising in her chest as she once again caught sight of his image, her nervously darting eyes spotted his shirt strewn over the divider behind him. There; the savior of her dignity.

Trying to be discreet but still blatantly obvious, Snow's eyes quickly flashed to the article of clothing, clearing her throat as she spoke.

"So, to recap," Thankfully Bigby was perceptive as usual and caught the hint without a look of surprise or falter in his demeanor.

He disappeared behind the divider and Snow felt suddenly very disappointed that inches of his perfection were soon to be completely obscured from her eyes, for maybe the remainder of her lifetime.

But it was for the best; he was nothing but a distraction and such a lapse in judgment could very well cost the life of yet another Fable.

She decided that maybe on some sleepless night, she would allow herself to fantasize about the endless expanse of physical flawlessness that was Bigby Wolf but now, now it was time to get down to business.

* * *

**An: So I've found a new shameless OTP and just couldn't resist. Let me know what you guys think and whether or not you'd like to see more vignettes concerning Snow and Bigby. I plan to post a new story soon that will have just random moments, both angsty and fluffy, concerning their relationship so if you guys have any plot points you'd like me to touch on, just type them into that little box below. :)**


End file.
